Wanna Tanunchaiwatana, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), underscored the technology transfer and existing opportunities under the UNFCCC. She noted the key themes to promote technology transfer are elaborating countries’ technology needs assessment (TNAs), having access to technology information, and enabling activities and funding.

Margaret Martin, EGTT member, summarized EGTT work in the area of innovative financing, including the Montreal and Bonn Workshops organized in collaboration with the private sector. She underscored that the workshops concluded that there are considerable financial resources available for projects but many projects are poorly elaborated and unable to attract investment.

Philip LaRocco, E+CO Energy Through Enterprise, outlined the UNFCCC “Preparing and presenting proposals: Guidebook on preparing technology transfer projects for financing” and highlighted key elements of a proposal, including: the core concept (product, service, client and technology), the setting (location and market), the team, the implementation plans, expectations, contingencies and the audience.

Emma Staub, E+CO Energy Through Enterprise Africa, described examples of technology transfer projects in Africa, including a solar water heater for large institutions in South Africa and a solar energy projetct in Tanzania. She outlined the short and long-term benefits of such projects, including: access to cheaper energy and heated water to communities; creation of jobs; and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Thomas Verheye, EGTT member, presented the new initiative of the European Commission of the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF) of € 100 million. He explained the fund is based on risk capital or equity and stressed that GEEREF will fund projects on biomass, wind, hydro, solar and geothermal, utility based and distributed generation, biofuel, manufacturing, energy service, trading microfinance ventures and energy efficiency.

Divaldo Rezende, CO2e.com, noted CO2e.com delivers market-based solutions to help companies address climate change issues, including: brokerage services related to GHG, renewable energy and other environmental products; and sourcing and delivery of emission offsets. Noting there is no LULUCF project in Brazil, he underscored the fund aims at integrating local communities in CDM projects and changing the reality of poor communities in a sustainable manner. Stressing that the fund will become operative in the next three months, Rezende said investors will receive back Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), which can be sold in the market or used for compliance.

Discussion: Answering a participant’s enquiry, Rezende said the methodology used for identifying the social gains obtained by communities when reducing GHG emissions is based on the sustainable livelihoods approach. Another participant asked how CO2e would harmonize its brokerage activities with reducing poverty and Rezende reasoned that in the fund, selling CERs is not compulsory for the investors and not linked to brokerage activities.

Rittl underscored that the impacts of changed climate patterns include primary forests becoming transitory forests, threats to species, rainfall pattern changes and extreme climate events with more frequent droughts and floods. Rittl urged the Brazilian government to take immediate action to develop policies and provide resources for combating deforestation and promote the sustainable use of natural resources. He called for action at the international level towards deeper and broader cuts in the Annex 1 parties’ emissions for the second commitment period.

Discussion: A participant commented that adaptation to climate change is not just an issue for Brazil but for other industrializing countries and suggested the Global Environment Facility (GEF) could design adaptation models for alternative community livelihoods.

Christophe Bellmann, ICTSD, discussed the applicability of the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules to biofuel trade, focusing on tariffs, subsidies and standards. He highlighted the relevance of the Doha negotiations on Environmental Goods and Services regarding tariffs, and noted the potential compatibility of consumer subsidies.

Ancha Srinivasan, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, said there is both interest and concern in biofuels in Asia, and cautioned that Brazil’s success with sugarcane might not be replicated elsewhere given the need to understand each country’s context. He added that many Asian countries have started putting mandatory standards in place and are looking for more biotechnology innovations.

John Coequyt, Greenpeace, suggested that international pressure for Brazil to export biodiesel products will continue. He noted that the terms of employment for production of ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil are slanted in favour of large corporations. He cautioned that discussion on biofuels are complex and emphasized the need for a rigorous and sophisticated way to understand their global warming mitigation potential.

Participants discussed, inter alia, the need to consider ethanol and biodiesel separately and the potential environmental risks of allowing biofuels trading, particularly without sufficient standards.